My Father in Heaven is Perfect

Andi's pastor often quoted Jesus words,
"Be perfect, as my Father in heaven is perfect."   
But no matter how hard Andi worked at it, 
she still fell short of perfection.
To Andi, sinless perfection was an unattainable goal. 

Through the years Andi gave up on perfection.
She figured that one day Jesus would come back
and she would fail the test and be lost.

One day she was taking a shower
when her husband rushed into the room.
He startled her by shouting in an excited voice,
"Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming!"  
Andi was so terrified that 
she jumped out of the shower
with shampoo in her hair and eyes,
crying, "But I'm not ready! I'm not ready."
Her husband hugged her through the wet towel
and said, "Not right now sweetie.
It's just the signs of His coming"

The day was September 11, 2001.
Most Americans will never forget
where they were when they heard the news.
The memory of that terror filled Andi's heart
as she relived it over and over.
Once again, Andi struggled to be good.
The fear of not being ready,
scared her into compulsive behavior
as she hoped to obtain perfection
and be ready the next time. 

People often told her
"Well if you don't sin,
you'll have nothing to worry about." 
This attitude disturbed Andi.
She felt alone and scared
as if she was the only one with sin. 
 
One day Andi heard a speaker
discuss the root words for perfection
in the Bible's original languages.
In the Old Testament Hebrew
the word is tamin.
The New Testament Greek word is telios.
Both mean whole or complete.

Andi discovered that Jesus' request
was not about working so hard to be sin-free,
but about wholeheartedly
becoming one with God.
As long as she was looking at her sins
she was not able to look to Jesus,
the Author and Finisher of her faith.

Jesus told Nicodemus
that he must be born again.
To be born again leads to growing up in Jesus.
To experience God is like falling in love.
When we get to know our friends,
we like to please them.
Sometimes we even become like them.
As we get to know God
we'll choose to please Him by following His lead.
Eventually, we will become more like Jesus.  

The Apostle Paul said it well,
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child,
but when I became an adult,
I put away childish things." 

In the beginning,
we did not understand God.
He had to use emergency measures to teach us.
But as we mature in our understanding
we no longer need to be warned
about the things we have already learned.
As we hang out with Jesus
we will continue to grow automatically.
 
Just as mature people go to the doctor
because they realize their need of one; 
mature Christians go to Jesus every day
because He is our bread of life
and the rock from which we drink
His living water so that we will never thirst.

Yes, our Father in Heaven is perfect. 
Perfect in love and perfect in forgiveness.
Perfect for filling our needs
so that we will be so full of His love
that our empty sins
will no longer have any power over us.
We can then rest in Jesus
to finish the work He began in us.

Everyone is a Sinner

If we say we have no sins,
we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8

Love is the Greatest Commandment

This is my commandment
that you love one another
as I have loved you.
John  15:12

We Will Grow Up In Jesus

When I was a child,
I talked like a child,
I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man,
I put childish ways behind me.
1 Corinthians 13:11

Jesus Told Us How To Be Saved

Live in me.
Make your home in me just as I do in you.
In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself
but only by being joined to the vine,
you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

I am the Vine,
you are the branches.
When you're joined with me and I with you,
the relationship is intimate and organic,
the harvest is sure to be abundant.
Separated, you can't produce a thing.
Anyone who separates from me is deadwood,
gathered up and thrown on the bonfire.
But if you make yourselves at home with me
and my words are at home in you,
you can be sure that whatever you ask
will be listened to and acted upon.
This is how my Father shows who he is—
when you produce grapes,
when you mature as my disciples.
John 15:4-6

Jesus Will Complete Our Salvation

He who has begun a good work
in you will complete it.
Philippians 1:6

Inspirational Thoughts:

"God's ideal for His children is higher
than the highest human thought can reach.
'Be ye therefore perfect,
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.'
This command is a promise.
The plan of redemption contemplates
our complete recovery from the power of Satan.
Christ always separates the contrite soul from sin.
He came to destroy the works of the devil,
and He has made provision that the Holy Spirit
shall be imparted to every repentant soul,
to keep him from sinning."

The Desire of Ages p. 311